MLA’s elder brother, who was a ration shop dealer and an agriculturist, was shot from close range in Chinaganapalli village of Racharla mandal by Maoists, who entered the village at about 9.30 pm on Monday night. The police suspect that the murderous act was the handiwork of the Maoist action team led by Nallamala East Area secretary Tallapalli Panduranga Reddy alias Sagar.

The attack came at a time when the Maoists had suffered some crippling blows. The Maoists had lost State Secretary Madhav and eight others in a major encounter on July 24 in Nallamala forests.

Earlier, they had lost State Committee member Matta Ravi Kumar and recently, top Naxal Samala Venkatesam alias Sudarsan was killed in Nallamala forests.